One of the first points of action when Kazakhstan’s new unicameral parliament met for the first time on August 28 was the election of its speaker from among the 145 elected parliamentarians. The choice almost unanimously fell on the leader of the Adilet party, Aibek Dadebay, who had already been nominated for the position in advance by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. 

Adilet won more than 70 percent of the vote during the election, making it by far the largest party in the Kurultai with 110 seats. 

The new speaker has worked as an academic and diplomat over the past 25 years, most recently working within the country’s presidential administration. His career has been shaped by Tokayev, with whom he has worked since 2013, when the now-president chaired the Kazakh Senate. 

Despite technically being a new party in Kazakhstan, Adilet was quickly connected to other pro-presidential parties. Two months after its founding congress in May, Adilet experienced an immense boost in power as the Amanat party, which had dominated Kazakh politics for over 20 years (prior to 2022 under the name Nur-Otan), decided to merge with them. Besides boosting Adilet, the merger was also seen as a way to maintain the organizational structures of the senior party, while distancing it from its historic connections to former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. This was seen as necessary following the chaos that erupted in relation to the January 2022 events – also known as Qandy Qantar, or Bloody January.

Despite already being a close associate of Tokayev, it was in the aftermath of Qandy Qantar that Dadebay began work in the central presidential administration. Within a few years, he advanced to become head of the presidential administration. He was relieved of that post on May 5; just two days later, he was elected as chairman of Adilet. This decision, along with the ease with which the party was registered to run, led The Diplomat’s Catherine Putz to previously describe Adilet as “parroting the existing president’s platform.”

Just as Adilet inherited many of Amanat’s structures, it also posted a similar landslide parliamentary election result, gaining 71.17 percent of the votes on August 23. The OSCE, which observed the election, stated that this victory was secured due to an unfair advantage for Adilet that had blurred the line between the party and the Kazakh state.

Tokayev said that Adilet “bears great responsibility” when he spoke at the Kurultai’s opening session, before outlining what he saw as the parliament’s main tasks during this first mandate. Key in this description was for the parliament to “consolidate society around common interests and become a driving force for reform,” and, most importantly, “serve the interests of the state,” as the president said.

The outlined goal simultaneously aligned with the president’s nominee for the role of speaker, with Tokayev calling the 46-year-old Dadebay an “educated, patriotic, and responsible citizen” when advocating for his appointment. With the subsequent vote on Dadebay’s role as chairman turning out almost unanimously, Tokayev now stands with both a widely pro-presidential parliament and a long-term confidant overseeing its work going forward. With that, the president has also secured a swift procedure regarding the appointment of governmental figures, such as new prime ministers and vice presidents. On August 31, Tokayev named Erlan Karin, a longtime close advisor, to the new vice presidential post and reappointed Olzhas Bektenov to the prime ministership, which he’s held since February 2024.

While Kazakh law prohibits Tokayev from being a member of a political party, the recent election and subsequent appointment of central positions in the new unicameral parliament have shown that the president’s confidants still hold central power.